THE motive for the killing of a promising young footballer remains a mystery.

Peter Hillman, 19, stabbed 17-year-old Alexandras Laou in the chest at a house in King Avenue, Bootle, on April 12 while he was playing with an ornamental knife.

Hillman, who was known in the area as "the Bootle bully", was sentenced to indeterminate detention at Liverpool crown court and will be eligible for parole after two years and three months.

Mr Laou's family and his girlfriend, who is due to have their child in the next few weeks, have been left devastated by his death. Adding to their anxiety has been the fact that there does not seem to be a reason why Mr Laou was attacked.

There was a collection of weapons at the house and, at one point, Hillman and Mr Laou were admiring an ornamental double-edged knife with a 10in blade.

While the householders were out of the room the two teenagers were playing with it and Hillman was jabbing out with it in order to frighten his friend, the court heard.

During a scuffle, Mr Laou received a stab wound to his chest and died in hospital on April 16.

16. Detective Sergeant Lee Schofield, who investigated the attack, said: "Nobody knows exactly what happened in that room when Alex Laou received the fatal stab wound.

"Alex was never in a position to tell us what happened. After he arrived at Fazakerley hospital, his condition rapidly deteriorated, leading him to fall into an unconscious state from which he never recovered.

"We do not have a motive."

Hillman, also of King Avenue, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He had been acting aggressively towards other people he knew that day and has a long list of previous convictions.